Disguised snails

Disguised snails
For capricious ladies and difficult children

Ingredients:

12 French escargots à la bourguignonne (frozen)

½ bunch of basil
½ bunch fresh spinach
4-5 tablespoons ground hazelnuts (freshly roasted)
2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 cloves of garlic
150-200 ml of sunflower and olive oil (in total)
Salt and pepper
1-2 pinches of Espelette pepper

2-3 yellow peppers
Walnuts
Camembert or other soft cheese (I had some Reblochon left from the Tartiflette)

Preparation:

Heat the frozen snails for 10 minutes at 180°C or until the butter starts to sizzle. Let cool until their turn comes.

Take a deep jar with large neck. Gather all the ingredients for pesto inside it. Start with the basil and fresh spinach, garlic and oil. Mix it all with a hand blender into a smooth paste which is then seasoned with salt, pepper and Espelette pepper. Then add the Parmesan cheese, hazelnuts and 12 snails, pouring in their parsley sauce as well. Blend again, for a more or less long time, conformed to the consistence you prefer.

Cut the yellow peppers in half keeping their peduncle. Top each with 2 tablespoons of pesto, a piece of cheese and walnut kernels. Arrange the stuffed peppers in a baking dish and bake at 200°C for 30-40 minutes.

Serve the disguised snails hot, although they are also delicious cold.